The Nagaland and Assam governments held high-level discussions over the sensitive interstate border issue on Saturday, reaffirming their commitment to maintain status quo and avoid unilateral actions while the matter remains sub judice before the Supreme Court.
Nagaland Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton, along with MLAs Achumbemo Kikon and Y Mhonbemo, met Assam Environment and Forest Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary and MLA Biswajit Phukan near the disputed Rengma Reserve Forest area in Golaghat district. Senior officials, including deputy commissioners, superintendents of police and other top personnel from both states also attended.
Patton stated in a social media post that the meeting underlined “the shared history between the two states and the need to resolve them with mutual respect and peaceful coexistence.” He reiterated that “all activities in the DAB must be carried out jointly, with full sensitivity to the livelihood concerns of local farmers.”
The Deputy CM further called for refraining from plantations or erecting pillars at eviction sites. “We will maintain the status quo as per the court order. We are thankful to the Assam forest minister and government for removing the fencing and pillars erected here,” Patton said, adding that evictions to clear encroachment will continue. He stressed that “Ahoms and Nagas have been peacefully coexisting since time immemorial, and there should be no dispute between them.”
Plantation drive deferred
A plantation drive scheduled for Saturday at Rengma Reserve Forest was postponed after both sides decided to wait for the approval of Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio before proceeding.
“Both evictions and plantations will continue. Today’s plantation didn’t take place as the deputy CM will have to apprise his chief minister about the plantation exercise. He will take the chief minister’s approval, and then the plantation drive will be conducted,” Patowary told reporters.
He clarified that he had approval from the Assam chief minister but agreed to conduct the initiative jointly with Nagaland, reflecting the cooperative spirit between the two states.
An official statement from the Golaghat district administration noted that delegations from both states deliberated on “the importance of ecological restoration, conservation of forest resources and fostering cooperation” in the sensitive area. It said the plantation initiative would commence after further discussions between the chief ministers of Assam and Nagaland.
The Assam government recently carried out a two-phase eviction drive in the Rengma Reserve Forest area.
The first phase, conducted over five days and ending on August 2, cleared encroachments on around 9,000 bighas, affecting about 1,500 families, mostly from the Muslim community, news agency PTI reported. The second phase, held on August 18 inside the Rengma Reserve Forest, removed encroachments from 26 hectares, displacing 41 families, according to official data.
Following the operations, reports alleged that Naga people were attempting to occupy the cleared land, a claim dismissed by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. “There is no encroachment by Naga people. In fact, Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio will join hands with us for the plantation drive. We aim to plant saplings in 12,000 bighas of land at Rengma,” PTI reported Sarma as saying, calling it a key ecological initiative.
Assam and Nagaland share a 512.1-km border, which has been a point of dispute since Nagaland was created in 1963. The issue is currently pending before the Supreme Court for settlement. In March, the Assam Assembly reported that 59,490.21 hectares of land were ‘captured’ by Nagaland.
Public meetings in Nagaland
In a parallel development, Nagaland Deputy Chief Minister Y. Patton held a public meeting at Hukhai Village, Niuland, today following the recent eviction of illegal settlements in the Disturbed Area Belt (DAB). During the meeting, he noted the concerns raised by six frontal organizations.
Later in the day, the Deputy CM convened another meeting at Tchujanphen Village, where he heard the grievances of local residents. The meeting was organized by the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) of Ralan Area Lotha Hoho and the Yanmhon Area Public Organisation, focusing on the prevailing situation in the DAB after the eviction drive. (With inputs from AIR/PTI)
